The Slavic people possess an ancient culture filled with beautiful clothing, traditional dances, ethnic cuisine, and their own tradition of mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. Despite their rich canon of myth, Slavic mythology gets much less attention than other European groups.

​I have long felt that Celtic and Germanic myth has taken a backseat to the Greco-Roman pantheon in the Western consciousness. But those groups have seen resurgence in interest in recent years. Slavic mythology has also experienced growing interest, however much of it has been cut off from the English speaking world in a way that Celtic and Germanic myth has not.

So, I am thrilled to see Slavic cultural tradition finally making a splash in the modern pop culture scene which in turn makes the rounds in the English speaking media.

The Golden Apple:

A Bulgarian animated series based on Slavic Myth

​Slavic culture sites like ​Slavorum and pop culture sites like GeekTyrant are among those reporting on the release of the Bulgarian animated series, The Golden Apple.

​How often does Bulgarian media make it into the English speaking world? Not much. Which speaks to the level of quality this series appears to possess.

Visually, the series is reminiscent of a Slavic version of The Secret of Kells. The images available on the web demonstrate highly stylized art with vivid colors and imaginative scenes. GeekTyrant says:

The Golden Apple is one such animated fantasy series which amalgamates the mythology and folklore of the Balkans.

​The mythological world is complicated by issues such as social exclusion, results of industrialization, climate change, and so on. All of these represent ideas that are skillfully inscribed into the soon-to-be-released series.

Background scene from The Golden Apple.

Slavorum gives some more description of the characters and imagery:​﻿﻿The Golden Apple is a fantasy animated series, based on Eastern European mythology and folklore. The story takes place in a vast mountain world, where the fogs come out of the hair of the powerful Zmei spirits, and the personified seasons walk the great forests.

​It is an epic Balkan fantasy world in which people use magic bells to battle the nightmares – huge shape shifters that feed on human suffering, but also a world in which the song of a Samodiva nymph can be both the most blessed of gifts and the most hated of curses.

​Russian Fairy Tale Superheroes!

Tales of Old Rus by Roman Papsuev

The other story I wanted to share with you is about an artist who uses legendary figures from Russian folktales as inspiration. Russia Behind The Headlines and Weird Russia report that Roman Papsuev (AKA Amok) is a Russian illustrator who enjoys transforming mythic characters into superheroes which have been described as reminiscent of modern video game protagonists. WeirdRussia says:​Russian illustrator Roman Papsuev, aka Amok, has a very large collection of well over 250 works. His art mainly consists of portraits, but he also has illustrations and images for Fantasy Flight CCGs. In his recent project, the Tales of Old Rus, Roman reimagined heroes of Russian fairy tales and legends. They look like characters of a computer game and live in the world of dark fantasy.

RBTH's Daria Donina explains:​The first characters were based on the author’s feelings and fantasies. He began, of course, with Ilya Muromets — the main Russian epic hero and the strongest bogatyr or warrior: “On his belt hangs a bottle of dead water that heals wounds.”

“What I like most is when people look at my pictures and then begin to read the tales and understand why, for instance, Vasilisa the Beautiful has a doll in her bag or why Vodyanoy rides a giant catfish. This grassroots revival of ancient folklore through my humble project gives me great pleasure.”

The author sometimes faces criticism in social networks. That’s inevitable. People say: “It’s not like that in the original tales. Ivanushka turns into a boy at the end. There’s nothing Russian here."

“The tales are stamped in the subconscious from childhood. Parents read adapted versions, of course, with happy ends,” responds Roman.

I had difficulty finding much more on this artist. His website is very sparse. He has a private Facebook profile, but not a public fan page for his work (that I could find). It looks like the best place to follow him is on Instagram.

Nevertheless, I have been very happy to see the world of myth and legend becoming more and more popular. These stories, their characters, and the lessons found therein are keys to our ancient cultural pasts.

I very firmly believe that ALL people of ALL backgrounds should seek out the myths of their ancestors. Of course, we can find an interest in the mythologies of cultures all around the world. But, learning the worldview presented in the mythos of your own cultural heritage can present you with the keys to understand yourself and where you came from.

​​​My name is Carolyn Emerick, and I write on the history, myth, and folklore of Northwestern Europe.

Explore this website for more on European history, mythology, and folk tradition. Please check out the section for my books!